Remember Me
by xblueflowerx
Summary: A challenger shows up at Misty's gym but there's something strangely familiar about him. Will she remember the boy whose been there for so long? Pokeshipping


_Just a random little one-shot that came into my mind. Hope you enjoy it :)_

…

"I'm sorry buddy, this is something I've got to do on my own." Ash said, bending down and giving Pikachu a scratch behind his ears.

"Pika pi pikachu-pi pika." The small yellow rodent crossed his arms.

"I know you want to come and see her but not now, I'll bring her back. I promise." He smiled.

"Cha!" Pikachu exclaimed excitedly, his sulk long forgotten.

"So stay with Brock for now and I'll be an hour tops." He shot a smile towards his travelling campaign who was planning to stay at the camp while Ash achieved his goal.

"Good luck." Brock said, barely looking up from the food he was preparing.

"Cheers." Ash grinned before turning from the camp and walking towards the city centre.

Ash's heart began to beat in double time as he walked, his palms getting sweaty as he began to lose his nerve. It had been seven years since they'd actually seen each other, ten since they'd travelled together. Sure, they kept in contact, letters, texts, late night phone calls but that was nothing compared to seeing the real thing.

He counted each footstep, each sway of his arms, anything to distract him from his inevitable future. His feet ground to a halt when he reached his destination. He felt so small standing in front of this grand gym. The same bright colours, the same Dewgong smiling down at him, it had barely changed since he was here as a child of ten.

Taking a deep breath he pushed the doors open and walked through the entrance, his hands reaching up towards his head to pull his cap off his head. She'd always nagged him about wearing it indoors, he didn't want to start off on an argument after all these years.

…

He walked down the endless corridors, the squeak of his rubber soled shoes echoing off the walls, eventually he reached the centre and finally found exactly who he was looking for.

Misty Waterflower.

After all these years there she was, right in front of him. The girl who plagued his dreams and quite a few of his thoughts, the girl who, no matter how long they were apart, he would always love her and the girl he hoped would return his feelings.

He remembered when it first started, as soon as he saw those beautiful, blue eyes looking down at him he felt his heart skip a beat but he'd always tried to push it off as a hero complex, she had just saved him from drowning after all. But it didn't ever stop the whole time they were travelling together, he'd always assumed that it was because she was the only girl who'd ever shown the slightest bit of interest in him, even it was platonic interest. Then again he didn't feel it for any other girl he travelled with, even after she was gone, that should have been his first hint. As he'd grown older the dreams became more frequent and much more intense, but he blamed his hormones, what 16 year old wouldn't have dreams like that when he had a best friend as attractive as his? Then he finally grew up and realised everything he'd felt over the years meant one thing, he was in love with his best friend, no more excuses just the facts and once he accepted it he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

And that's what brought him here, a smile spread across his lips as he stood in the doorway, ready to tell Misty about his new found feelings. However, she had yet to even look up from her magazine, completely oblivious to the extra body in the room. He drank her all in while he had the chance, the way she gently blew her bangs out her face with a sigh, the way her elegant legs lay across the table, slightly crossed at the ankles, the way the swimming costume she wore complimented her curves perfectly.

Mindlessly she flipped through her magazine, constantly checking the clock on the wall. Ash knew she'd grown tired of being trapped in the gym, longing to back out on the open road again, she'd complained about it to him many a time. But now that Daisy was taking an interest and helping out more with gym battles he decided it was the perfect time to whisk her off her feet and take her to the latest region he was working his way through.

Pushing himself to move he made his way over to Misty, she groaned slightly at the shadow now cast over her magazine.

"I'd like to battle." He stuttered out, holding the hat behind his back, nervously wringing it out between his hands.

"Shocker." Misty muttered, eyes never leaving her magazine.

"So…?" He asked, bending slightly in an attempt to catch her eye.

"I'm on break." She said, the annoyance clear in her voice. Slowly her eyes moved up, straight past Ash and towards the clock behind his head. "But in about five minutes Daisy will be here and you can battle her." She gave him a fake smile then her eyes were back on her magazine.

"I don't want to battle Daisy, I want to battle you." He smiled.

"Well, like I said I'm on break." She said, turning a page of her magazine.

"I'll wait." He shrugged.

"Then you'll be waiting a hell of a long time."

He felt disappointment swell inside him, did she really not know him? He may have changed over the years but surely he wasn't unrecognisable. He crossed his arms as he looked down at her, eyes scanning the magazine on her lap. He'd recognised her, granted he'd seen her in magazines, articles about her status as Kanto's greatest gym leader, but he knew he'd have recognised that face anywhere, the eyes were a dead give away. She may not have seen him for a few years but she had spoken to him, surely his voice couldn't have changed that much over the phone.

"Are you just going to stand there?" She asked, closing her magazine and looking up at him right in the eye.

"Yeah, pretty much." He said.

She tilted her head to one side, nose crinkled up in confusion. The jet black hair, the warm brown eyes, the cheeky smile. It all seemed so familiar but yet she couldn't quite place him.

"Alright, fine. If you're that desperate we'll go battle." She threw her magazine down on the table and pulled herself into a standing position.

"You serious?" He raised his eyebrow, he felt his smile grow as he looked down at her, finally having out grown her.

"Yeah, I can't enjoy my break with you lurking over me the whole time." She turned on her heel and walked down the hall. "You coming?" She called over her shoulder.

"Oh, right." He shouted, running after her.

…

"So, is this your first badge in Kanto?" Misty asked, making small talk as she pulled her hair into a pony.

"Nope." He bit his lip as he watched her, shoulders pushed back, chest pressed forward, only making her look more attractive.

"Really? How many you got?" She shook her head slightly to test the strength of her pony.

"I've got them all." He smirked, a slight smugness to his voice.

"Then why am I wasting my time here?" She asked, putting her hands her hips.

"Last time I was here, quite a few years back, my battle was cut short." He shrugged.

"And you still got the badge?" Misty shook her head. "God, my sisters were hopeless."

"Which is exactly why I want to battle you." He said, taking a step closer to her and offering her the same cocky smile he'd seen Gary give girls many times.

"Well if you've already got a badge, what have you got to gain?" She asked, rolling her eyes, the smile not having the desired effect on her.

"How about this, if I win the battle I get a kiss." He raised his eyebrow at her.

"And if I win?" She crossed her arms.

"Eh, I'll take you out to dinner." He shrugged.

"It sounds like I'm not a winner in either of these situation." She laughed slightly.

"Okay, would you like to make a counter offer?" He asked.

"If you win, I'll do dinner…"

"And a kiss." He interrupted, his mischievous smile threatening to split his cheeks.

"Sure, whatever you say." She rolled her eyes. "But when I win you clean my pool out for me." She smiled, overly confident in her ability to achieve that she'd agree to anything.

"Deal?" He held his hand out for her to shake.

With a slight nibble of her lip she debated whether to agree to what was essentially a strangers perverted demands of her. But Misty never liked to back down from a challenge.

"Deal." She nodded, reaching forward and grabbing his hand.

Ash felt the same tingles from all those years ago as their skin touched, but the determined look that didn't leave her eyes showed she wasn't feeling the same sparks.

"Let's do this then." He said, releasing her hand and putting his hat on and turning it backwards, old habits die hard.

"Wait, are you…" Misty trailed off, her head tilted to one side as she assessed the man in front of her.

"Am I what?" He asked, hoping everything had clicked into place within her mind.

"Nothing." She shook her head, eyes dropping back to the ground. "It was stupid anyway."

Still never meeting his eye she walked over to her side of the pool, getting ready for the battle.

Ash wanted to run over and grab her by the shoulders, hold her close until she remembered him, until she realised he was stood right in front of her.

But instead he walked over to his side of the pool and pulled his pokeball out.

…

"Oh god, oh god." Misty repeated to herself under her breath.

"Looks like I won." Ash smiled. "And you know what that means?" He made his way over to Misty, who looked like she was trying to find a way of escaping.

"Nope, I don't." She shook her head, backing away from him slightly.

"We had a deal." He wasn't giving up, he was going to get his kiss from Misty no matter what happened, even if she attacked him afterwards with her mallet.

"I never actually agreed to that." She glanced over her shoulder as her back came into contact with the cold, hard wall, but Ash wasn't stopping, he continued walking towards her.

"You shook hands on it." He said, coming to a standstill as he stood in front of her.

Being this close to her almost drove him crazy, he had to use all his willpower to stop himself from grabbing her and kissing her right now, but he was enjoying winding her up.

"That was just a joke." Her eyes darted around, looking for Daisy to save her from this current situation, but he was blocking most of her view so the whole act was rendered pointless.

"I'm sure you would have made me clean the pool if I'd have lost." He laughed.

"I might have done." She bit her lip. "But that's different."

"How is it different Misty?" Her name falling off her lips for the first time since they'd been reunited.

A slight look of recognition shot across her face but once again she pushed it aside, it was just her hopes getting carried away from her. There was no way he was stood in front of her, asking for a kiss, despite the amount of times she'd dreamed it. That wasn't something he'd do, if he did show up the only thing he'd be interested in would be any new Pokémon she'd obtained, not her.

"Look, I can offer you Daisy." Misty said, her voice stern, making many men back down in fear. Unfortunately for her, Ash wasn't most men. "But that's the best you're going to get."

"I've already told you, I don't want Daisy." He placed his hands against the wall on either side of head, successfully trapping her. "I want you."

His eyes stared into hers, a look in them that she'd never seen before and never expected to see from some guy she was battling against.

"I don't even know your name." She swallowed, eyes flickering down to his lips and she hated herself for it.

She let her gaze drop down further to avoid any embarrassment.

"Sorry, did I not introduce myself Mist?" He asked, her head shooting back up.

"What did you just call me?" She was only ever called Mist by one person, one person with similar jet black hair, similar warm brown eyes, similar cocky smile and a similar stupid cap. But it couldn't be him, could it?

"The name's Ash." Misty's eyes doubled in size as he took hold of her chin. "Ash Ketchum."

"Ash? What are you…" She didn't manage to finish her question as Ash brought his lips down to hers, he'd earned it after all.

Letting her eyes close, she kissed him back, all of the built up emotions between them finally allowed to be let lose. Her hands travelled up to his hair, knocking the cap off his head, her lips parted granting Ash the access he'd been begging for as soon as their lips touched. His hands dropped from her chin to her waist to pull her closer to him, her hips pressed firmly against him.

"Wow." He whispered, pulling back, his forehead resting against hers.

However, his happiness was short lived as a hand collided with his cheek in a short, sharp slap.

"What was that for?" He asked, clutching his cheek.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me? You just turn up here acting all mysterious stranger, tricking me into agreeing to dates. I thought you were a psycho!" She roughly pushed him off and stepped away from the wall.

"Well excuse me for thinking my best friend would be able to recognise me." He crossed his arms.

"It's been seven years Ash! How was I meant to know what you looked like? It's not like you came to visit." She shouted.

"Neither did you!" He refused to take all the blame in this situation.

"How could I? I've got a gym to run in case you hadn't noticed." She gestured around her, backing up her point.

"But for the past five years you've had help from Daisy, are you really telling me you couldn't have had a holiday at any point?" She looked down, her anger soon dispersing.

"I didn't think you'd want me just showing up." She admitted.

"Of course I would!" He pulled her towards him and held her close, arms tight around her. "Since you've been gone I've wanted nothing more than you to come back."

"I guess we could have both made more of an effort." She smiled, wrapping her arms around him too.

"Come back." Ash whispered into her hair, barely loud enough for her to hear.

"What?" She pulled back slightly and looked up.

"Travelling. Come back with me. Please." He pleaded, afraid of her answer.

"I can't Ash, you know that." She said with a small smile.

"I need you to come back." He admitted, deciding it was now or never, Misty needed to know how he felt.

"Why?" She laughed slightly. "Nobody around to save you when things go wrong?" He shook his head slightly.

"Because I love you." Her face froze, shock over what he'd said making it impossible to gauge her reaction. "And I can't lose again."

Slowly she swallowed, her mind still processing what had been said to her. She was surprised enough to see him here and now he was confessing to her, her mind was spinning.

"Oh Ash." She sighed. "I love you too, I always have."

He smiled down at her, relief clear in his eyes, Misty bit her lip again as she was about to break that smile.

"But that doesn't change anything, I can't come back."

"You have to, if not I'll just stay here." He said, taking hold of her hands.

"You're being stupid now Ash." She smiled, detaching her hand and reaching up to brush his hair aside. "If I could you know I would in a heartbeat but I couldn't do that to Daisy…"

"Yes you can." A voice called out from across the room.

Misty jumped away from Ash, a blush now on her cheeks.

"I wouldn't bother, I totally heard everything." Daisy said, walking over to the two younger adults. "I didn't realise your boyfriend was back in town."

"He's not my boyfriend." Misty said on instinct.

"After that little display, I'm not sure I believe you." Daisy smirked. "So go on, like, run off with Ash."

"I can't do that, what about the gym?" She asked her sister.

"What about it? I can look after it." Misty opened her mouth to protest but Daisy soon silenced her. "No buts, I'm, like, not as hopeless as you think." Misty gave her older sister a look. "Worst happens, I'll get Tracey to come help me out. No biggie."

"I'm sure he'll love that." Misty rolled her eyes at her sister's blatant abuse of her boyfriend's kindness.

"Like, stop looking for excuse and go with him. He clearly wants you to."

Misty glanced over her shoulder at Ash, he looked up at her and offered her a small smile, his eyes begging her to listen to her sister and come with him.

"Okay, I will." Misty smiled back at Ash.

"You will? Mist, that's great!" Ash exclaimed before scooping her up in his arms and kissing her again.

"Least wait until I'm out the room, jeez!" Daisy called out as she walked away.

But the young couple didn't notice, they were too wrapped up in each other.

…

Ash smiled as he walked back to camp, he and Misty's hand swinging between them as they went. He was so glad she was back, and this time he was all hers.

"I'm so excited to see Brock again. Oh my god! And Pikachu!" Misty rambled excitedly, Ash only half paying attention as she spoke.

His mind began to travel, he was thinking back to that fateful day when they first met. It all started with a simple act of borrowing a bike, a simple act that changed his life forever, but it most definitely changed his life for the better.

"Ketchum? You with me?" Misty asked, gently flicking his forehead.

"Yeah, I'm with you." He said, his gaze dropping back to her eyes.

"Don't you lie." She laughed, shaking her head. "What were you even thinking about?"

"I was thinking about the day we first met." Misty smiled as she thought back to their first encounter. "It was definitely a lot easier to get you to travel back then."

"Well, I had to." Misty shrugged. "You ruined my bike, had to make sure you paid me back."

"Of course." Ash rolled his eyes, some things never changed with her.

"You never did pay me back for that bike." She glared.

"Yes I did!"

"When?" She scoffed.

"Just before you headed home, I distinctly remember you leaving with a bike. Or am I wrong?" Ash smirked.

"That doesn't count, Nurse Joy did that for you."

"What difference does that make? You wanted a bike, you got a bike." He smiled despite the situation, he and Misty were back to their old selves, how short their honeymoon period had been. But he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy arguing with her, she gave him a rush that he'd been missing for the past seven years but he was glad it was back.

"Off you! You cheated and got someone else to replace it. As far as I'm concerned you still owe me a bike and I plan to…"

Ash pulled on her hand until she was pressed against his chest, his lips smothering out the end of her sentence, but she wasn't complaining she soon felt herself melting into the kiss. She may still be as argumentative and stubborn as she used to be but least he'd now found an effective way to silence her.

"I love you." She smiled, eyes fluttering open.

"I love you too." He kissed her lightly on the nose. "I'm never letting you leave me again." He wrapped his arms possessively around her waist. "You're mine forever."

"Fine by me." She smiled, lifting onto her tip toes to kiss him again.

He pushed her slightly so that she was pinned against the tree, his body pressing into hers as he deepened the kiss.

Ash knew Brock and Pikachu would be waiting for them, and they were also excited to see Misty again, but he decided he and Misty should make the most of their time alone, who knew when they'd next get the chance?

Misty moaned slightly, her hands slipped under his shirt and stroking his bare chest, his hidden away muscles. Following her lead his hands soon began to travel, feeling her silky, smooth skin under his fingers. All his dreams were coming true in this exact moment. After so many nights he was finally feeling Misty against him, her lips against his, her skin against his, her fingers scratching at his back, nothing could be more perfect than this moment.

The others could handle another hour of waiting, it wouldn't kill them.

…

_That was meant to be a little drabble but I sort of got carried away with it, oops!_

_Please review :) thanks_


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